Glendale Places 2nd in WSC Meet : College track: Bakersfield successfully defends conference titles in the men’s and women’s divisions.

Marty Beck won the 400-meter intermediate hurdles in a meet-record 51.84 seconds and placed second in the 400 in 47.59 to highlight Glendale College’s second-place finish in the Western State Conference track and field finals Friday.

Beck, despite being forced to scratch from the long jump because of shin splints, helped anchor the Vaquero 1,600 relay team to a third-place finish with a 46.2 leg and was named the male athlete of the meet.

Bakersfield successfully defended its WSC title with 224 points, followed by Glendale (148) and Ventura (101), Cuesta (94) and Moorpark (88).

Bakersfield also won its second consecutive title in the women’s division with 183 points. Ventura finished second with 120 and Glendale was third with 115 1/2. Moorpark and Valley placed fourth and fifth with 113 and 102 points, respectively.

Melanie Clarke of Valley was named the women’s field event athlete of the meet after winning the high jump (5-4) and long jump (17-11 3/4) and placing second in the 400 (55.39) and fourth in the shotput.

Bakersfield received a big boost from Juan Romero, who surged to victory in the 5,000 meters in 15 minutes 11.8 seconds. Glendale’s James Moore finished second.

“I only felt 90% tonight,” said Moore, who outkicked Romero in a 10,000-meter race Tuesday in which he set a personal best. “I didn’t feel 100% like I did in the 10,000.”

Moore ran 15:21.35 in the 5,000.

The top five finishers in the men’s competition and the first six in the women’s advance to the Southern California preliminaries to be held at Cerritos College a week from today.

Beck, bound for UCLA, and Phil Simpson (54.90) led a 1-2 Glendale finish in the 400 hurdles. Beck bettered the meet record of 51.9 by Dwayne Wycoff (1980) and Rick Steele (1975), both of Glendale.

“I was happy with the way we ran on the track, but Bakersfield was too strong in the field events,” Glendale Coach Tom McMurray said of the men’s performance.

In the men’s 1,500, Glendale picked up 21 points, placing four runners among the top seven, and also scored 20 points in the 800, but there was some disappointment.

Glendale’s Rick Provenzano, who has the fastest time in the conference at 1:52.01, placed a distant seventh in 1:57 in the 800. However, teammates Nick Lugo and Derrick Mitchell placed first and second in 1:56.73 and 1:56.93.

Jaime Galindo of Ventura led until the last 100 of the 1,500 when Provenzano passed him to win in 3:59.29. Galindo placed second in 3:59.60.

Ventura’s Ryan Rapoza won the javelin with a toss of 202 feet 4 inches to defeat Gil Carillo of Moorpark (199-3).

Other winners included Joe Neff of Moorpark in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (9:46.0), Ron Casson of Ventura in the 110-meter high hurdles (14.53), Larry Johnston of Moorpark in the hammer throw (146-0) and David Swanson of Glendale in the high jump (6-10).

Simone Cain of Ventura won the 200 (24.28) and 400 (54.75).

Marji Gilles of Glendale won the triple jump (37-4) and placed second in the javelin (117-3).